Elliot Kirstein
Optometrist · Cincinnati, OHNPI 1235226085
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — food and beverage (47.6%), speaking fees and education — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 30 manufacturers reported payments, led by Optovue, Inc. at 27.9% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $7,387 and has fallen 67.8% since, to $2,381 in 2025. Among optometrist clinicians in OH with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 5% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 256 payments — averaging $70.81 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Optovue, Inc.$5K
- AbbVie$3K
- Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$2K
- Glaukos Corporation$2K
- Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.$967
- Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc.$836
- plus $5K from 24 others
What the payments were for
- Speaking & faculty fees$6,50036%
- Travel & lodging$3052%
- Food & beverage$8,63448%
- Education$2,68715%
General payments by program year
Who reported the general payments
Companies are grouped under their corporate parent — a single manufacturer often files under several CMS reporting entities. Research and ownership payments are counted separately and are not in this table.
| Company | Payments | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Optovue, Inc. | 6 | $5,061 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 34 | $2,560 |
| Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 15 | $1,770 |
| Glaukos Corporation | 5 | $1,709 |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc. | 24 | $967 |
| Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. | 36 | $836 |
| Haag-streit USA, Inc. | 1 | $750 |
| Visioneering Technologies, Inc. | 2 | $604 |
| Alcon | 14 | $529 |
| Oyster Point Pharma, Inc. | 17 | $454 |
| Bausch & Lomb, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 8 | $425 |
| Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 10 | $291 |
| Thea Pharma Inc. | 15 | $267 |
| Harrow Eye, LLC | 5 | $244 |
| Eyevance Pharmaceuticals LLC | 6 | $223 |
| Novartis | 11 | $208 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 6 | $200 |
| Coopervision Inc. | 5 | $180 |
| Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. | 7 | $177 |
| Ivantis, Inc | 2 | $143 |
| Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. | 6 | $114 |
| Shire North American Group Inc | 7 | $99 |
| Dompe US, Inc. | 4 | $86 |
| Visionix USA, Inc | 1 | $76 |
| Biotissue Holdings Inc. | 2 | $55 |
| Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $30 |
| Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC | 1 | $21 |
| Akorn, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Sight Sciences, Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| LKC Technologies, Inc. | 2 | $13 |
What the payments were tied to
Products named in the reported payments. Only payments of $100 or more are attributed here — the typical reported payment nationally is a meal worth about $16, and listing those product-by-product would be noise.
- iVue$4,805
- Radius XR$1,250
- Rocklatan$626
- Rhopressa$486
- VYZULTA$334
- INFUSE$250
- CEQUA$225
- VUITY$212
- Tobradex ST$139
- iDoseTR$131
- RESTASIS MULTIDOSE$127
- Hydrus Microstent$122
- MIEBO$122
- TYRVAYA$122
- Precision7$122
- DEXTENZA$121
- BIOTRUE$119
- ULTRA$119
- BIOTRUE ONE DAY$119
- TEPEZZA$119
How this compares
$18,126 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 1,995 optometrist providers in Ohio.
Medicare billing
What this is not: this is the amount Original Medicare Part B allowed for services this provider billed in 2024. It is not their income. It excludes Medicare Advantage — now more than half of all Medicare enrollment — along with Medicaid and all commercial insurance, and it is gross practice revenue before staff, rent, supplies and malpractice premiums. CMS also suppresses any figure covering ten or fewer patients, so low-volume providers appear smaller than they are.
Most prescribed under Part D
| Drug | Claims | Cost to plans & patients |
|---|---|---|
| RocklatanNetarsudil Mesylat/Latanoprost | 44 | $39,727 |
| RestasisCyclosporine | 36 | $31,268 |
| RhopressaNetarsudil Mesylate | 19 | $17,475 |
| CombiganBrimonidine Tartrate/Timolol | 34 | $12,888 |
| Latanoprost | 715 | $6,589 |
| Cyclosporine | 21 | $5,782 |
| SimbrinzaBrinzolamide/Brimonidine Tart | 14 | $3,707 |
| Fluorometholone | 27 | $2,635 |
| Tobramycin-DexamethasoneTobramycin/Dexamethasone | 69 | $2,523 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate-TimololBrimonidine Tartrate/Timolol | 14 | $2,088 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate | 41 | $1,964 |
| Timolol Maleate | 214 | $1,906 |
| Dorzolamide-TimololDorzolamide Hcl/Timolol Maleat | 139 | $1,642 |
| Doxycycline Hyclate | 31 | $1,145 |
| Prednisolone Acetate | 23 | $892 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Companies that both paid and supply prescribed drugs
These companies both reported payments to this provider and make drugs the provider prescribed under Medicare Part D in 2024. For most specialties this overlap is expected — a cardiologist who is paid by a cardiology drugmaker also treats heart disease. It is shown so the reader can see it, not because it implies anything on its own.
| Company | Paid to this provider | Part D cost of their drugs |
|---|---|---|
| Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Rocklatan, Rhopressa | $1,770 | $57,20263 claims |
| AbbVieRestasis, Combigan | $2,560 | $44,15670 claims |
| AlconSimbrinza | $529 | $3,70714 claims |
Reading this fairly. The Part D column is what drug plans and patients paid pharmacies — this provider received none of it, and it reflects how many patients they treat and what those drugs cost. Against peers, this provider's reported payments sit in the 95th percentile of 1,995 optometrist providers in Ohio.
Other optometrist in Cincinnati
- Carly RoseCincinnati$203K
- John LahrCincinnati$145K
- Mary YackeyCincinnati$122K
- Todd ZelczakCincinnati$15K
- Rawzi BaikCincinnati$14K
- Mile BrujicBowling Green$1.3M
- Gregory DenaeyerColumbus$846K
- Cory LappinMontgomery$367K
- Chris SmileyColumbus$305K
- Thomas ChesterCleveland$300K
Where these figures come from
- Payments: CMS Open Payments, program years 2019–2025 (publication P06302026_06032026).
- Billing: Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners, data year 2024. Original Medicare Part B only.
- Identity: NPPES NPI Registry, July 2026.